Tuesday, September 20, 2011

“Giant steps forward: Praising God from whom all blessings flow!”

“Giant steps forward: Praising God from whom all blessings flow!”

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts …” This hymn was going through all of our heads one Sunday a few weeks back as we reflected how in God's timing the Lubin city council voted unanimously for our church plant to receive at 1% of its value a large portion of land close to our current location. Our friend (not a believer) who sits on the council gave testimony that everything our church does is for people -- not for money or making a name for itself. It was encouraging to hear that our church is known as an active outward-focused group of people.

It is a blessing knowing that we will have a place that we can call our own and do so much more in this community reaching out to those that are lost and searching for meaning in life. The place that we are currently renting is seemingly getting smaller and smaller.

Another two songs that came forth two weeks ago were “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” and “Amazing Grace”. A number of months ago a lady who had been visiting the church for some time made the decision to give her life to Christ. In the process of being discipled, she wanted to be baptized. It just so happened that our mother church was also planning a baptism so we decided to join them for baptismal classes. Our son, Andrew, also wanted to be baptized. So Andrew, Dorota and I went to the prep classes. We then set a date for the baptism. Andrew and Dorota wanted the baptism to happen here in Lubin so as to be an example to those around of the decision they had made. On September 4th we had our first baptism. We borrowed a swimming pool and filled it up in our church parking lot. The whole service was wonderful as Andrew and Dorota reflected on their desire to follow Christ, not only accepting Him as their Savior, but following Him in baptism. The sermon the pastor gave was a very good sermon on baptism and what it is. As each person came up out of the water we sang, “I Have Decided”. At the end we had communion and closed the service singing, “Amazing Grace”.

We are also praising God for allowing us to have our first Bible camp. The team that came from McCoy Memorial Baptist Church was well prepared and full of love for the kids and expectation for how God would work in their lives. We had about 20 kids who came, heard the gospel and learned more about creation.

These three steps forward are gigantic. God is at work! Even if it is slower than we would like, it is true that precious lives are being changed and God is providing a place for this local body to be able to even have more opportunities to share their faith and to be a blessing to others.

We thank you for your encouragement through prayers and monetary giving. We ask you to praise God for these three giant steps forward. Also please pray for Dorota and Andrew that they would grow to become more like Christ. We also need prayer and wisdom in building a physical building. Pray that more people would see their need for a Savior.

Blessings,
Paul, Carlene
Andrew, Aaron and Alaina

Prayer Update
Praise

• Language school
Praise God for our students (children and adults) and parents of our students. God has given us many possibilities for sharing our faith through the building of relationships.
• Baptism / Salvation
We are praising God for the first baptism that we had. It was encouraging seeing Andrew and Dorota desire and follow Christ in baptism.
• Land
It is a real blessing and encouragement receiving land. Praise God for His provision.
• Bible Camp
Praise God for the Bible camp this summer. The 20 young people who attended heard the Gospel clearly. We are thankful for McCoy Baptist group who came to help us.
• Gospel Jam
Our II Gospel Jam Session went really well. We believe that it led people closer to God. Most that attended do not have real faith.

Prayer:

• Marriage Conference
On the 24th of September we are hosting a marriage conference. Please pray for all the organizational aspects but most importantly for people’s souls. As the Gospel is shared during the conference, please pray for a clear working in people’s hearts and minds.
• Gospel Jam
On the 5th of November we will be having our third Gospel Jam. We pray that the time we spend singing Gospel will be more than just a good time singing Gospel but it will be a time also reflecting on the powerful words that are being sung. We want this to be a time that would draw people closer to God. Pray that participants would see their need for Him.
• Film Night
On the 7th of October we are beginning a film discussion evening. Our first film will be Apollo 13. We will watch and then discuss the film from a Christian perspective
• Language School
“Logos” Language Center started last week. Please pray for the teachers – wisdom in teaching good English, boldness in clearly presenting the Gospel through their teaching. Pray for the 110 students and their parents (some are adults) that their eyes would be open and they would see the emptiness of religion. May they find an everlasting relationship!
• Kids
Please pray for Andrew, Aaron and Alaina that they would be strong in their faith and hold to the truth. Pray that they would have opportunities to share about the relationship they have in Christ.
• Unbelievers
Some of those who come to the fellowship still have not publically made a decision for Him. Pray for their salvation. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts.
• Small Groups
We are looking at forming small groups that would meet during the week. We already have one group and a ladies group starting soon.
• Building a building
Prayer for wisdom and the resources to build a church building that would serve the community in the best way possible. It could be really easy to build a building and forget the people.

Friday, May 20, 2011

"Prayer At Unexpected Times Brings Results"

You could have heard a pin drop during our annual Gospel Workshop, while midway through rehearsing the song “speak to me” ...

verse: Speak to me, my Father
In a small voice
Reaching all my tears and sorrows

chorus: Hear me when I cry, my Father
Hear me when I cry
(Ruth lynch / shean roberts)

... one of our instructors looked the drummer straight in his eyes and asked if she could pray for him on stage right then and there. Prayer for most Poles is usually done at church or privately at home so this was quite unexpected.

The drummer who has played for us the last 5 years has not yet made a decision to follow Christ. He looked at her with big eyes not quite knowing what to do. He asked, “Me?” and she said, “Yes, you.” she asked the other two instructors to come up (one is a pastor in England, the other is Polish and from Kraków). They publicly prayed for him right on stage. It was an incredible moment as she prayed. The holy spirit was touching lives.

She had prayed specifically for him all year long and at that moment God wanted her to pray publicly for him. She did it even though other voices
Screamed for her not to.

Following this prayer, it was break time and some very interesting things happened. The base guitar player, an atheist, agreed to let an instructor pray for him, the drummer's girlfriend said she needed Jesus and made a decision to follow Christ and one other girl later on also made a decision for Christ.

It is wonderful how God leads us to pray at unexpected times. When listening to Him, we many times get unexpected and blessed results.

As a team, we feel blessed to be a part of what God is doing in building His church in Lubin. We thank you for your faithfulness in praying and giving.

Blessings,
Paul, Carlene
Andrew, Aaron and Alaina

Prayer update

The theme in our newsletter is, „Prayer At Unexpected Times Brings Results”. We are so thankful for those that have faithfully been praying. We want you to know that God is working in us and in those around us.

1. Upcoming Events:

• May 21 Ladies’ Tea – Pray for each woman that comes to the tea that they would be encouraged, strengthened, blessed and saved (if needed). Also for follow up with the women that come.
• May 26 Philadelphia Biblical University Choir – Pray that once again the Gospel would be boldly proclaimed and that those that come to the concert would see their need for a Savior and not just religion.
• May 28 Gospel Jam – This is a follow up to our Gospel Workshop in April. Pray for those that will come.
• June 3 Men’s get together – As the men get together from the church, we ask for the strengthening of our relationships and good fellowship.
• June 11 Block party – Prayer for opportunities to make Christ known in the community surrounding the church.
• July 25 – 31 Bible Camp – A team from McCoy Memorial Baptist Church (Elkhart, Indiana) and those of us in the church plant will be involved in the first Bible Camp the church has had. Pray for great unity among the entire staff, many kids to sign up, boldness in teaching and changed lives.

2. Jerry, our teammate, is going on home service in June and Lord willing, is planning on returning in December – Pray for his time in the US.

3. The on-going land and building process. The church is in the process of acquiring land from the city for us to buy it at 1% of its value. The City Council only needs to vote on it to make it official.

4. For planning and implementing a small group strategy for church growth – Wisdom as we begin looking at forming small groups among church members.

5. Pray for those that are in the church but not yet saved.

6. Pray for the two ladies that made a profession after our Gospel Workshops and the drummer and his friend that asked for prayer.

7. We are thankful for Louise Eisenhauer who could be with us for the last 6 weeks. She has been such a blessing.

8. We are thankful how mission work has and is impacting our own lives.

9. We are praising God for the forward momentum of work with the youth. Every other week the youth have been meeting for Bible study and prayer. There have been some good, fun relationship-building activities also.

10. We are praising God for how those in the church plant are starting to see their God given gifts and how they can be used within the local body.

11. Wisdom in being more proactive in discipleship.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

"What's Up?!"

Most likely, if you were to write a letter to us today, the expression that you would be using would be “What's Up?!” - In response, we would say “a lot, so much so that we are like a rolling stone that gathers no moss!”.

It was a real joy connecting with many of you this past summer. Since we’ve been back, we’ve been encouraged to see God at work. He is doing amazing things in and outside our local body of believers. Please find below some highlights:

- The youth ministry that we asked prayer for is in the process of coming
together. God is showing us key leaders, vision with stated goals are being
put into place and there is a growing passion for seeing our youth come to
faith in Jesus Christ, discipled and grow.

- The need to disciple and mentor key leaders is great. These key men are requesting it.

- The starting of a “5 Evenings” evangelistic Bible Study. We plan to repeat this study.

- Once a week Paul, has been doing visitation with those in and outside the fellowship.

- “It is not what you do but how you use what you do that makes a difference.”

- The local body is becoming more assertive in evangelism. We have some in the Fellowship
that have not decided to follow Christ yet. Some know they have to make a decision.

- There is a growing understanding of the role of the missionary.

- Our Language Center's Thanksgiving celebration went well with seeds planted, testimony
boldly given and turkey eaten with all the trimmings.

Thank you so much for your encouragement through prayer and financial giving. We give God the glory for what He is doing in people's lives - The local believers, missionaries and non-believers here in Lubin.

Blessings,
Paul, Carlene
Andrew, Aaron and Alaina

Monday, August 23, 2010

“Reports Warming And Exciting The Heart”


Dear Friends,

     Over the last two and a half months we have heard many good reports from Poland:  13 decisions for Christ, one person close to making a decision for Christ, pointed questions being asked - How can we know we have fulfilled God's will?, a student Bible study started with growing interest, visitors being present during the church service and church members serving  - taking up the slack while others are on vacation or serving somewhere else.  These reports are exciting and warm our hearts.  We so desire to once again join our team and be a part of what God is doing.

     In less than one week we are scheduled to return to Poland.  We have 3 current and URGENT prayer requests that we would like to ask  you to pray for: 

1.  Please pray for God’s support provision – There is still a monthly need of $633,33. If interested in sponsoring, please contact us right away using the information in the contact information box.

2.  Pray as we return that we would quickly re-adapt and get into the swing of things -  meeting with friends and contacts, church and language school.
 
3.  Pray for our children as they start school September 1st. 

Thank you for praying. 

Paul and Carlene Eager
Andrew, Aaron and Alaina


Contact Information
Address:  57131 Sequoia Dr. Goshen, IN 46528
E-Mail:  pauleager@ymail.com
Phone:  574.343.4665
              574.875.3925

Sunday, August 8, 2010

"Tube from Heaven"

“Tube from Heaven”
The big day had finally arrived.  After 20 weeks of intense training, I was ready to embark on my first triathlon, a half Ironman.  It was an exciting moment as I jumped into the water with my wave of about 100 other participants.  After about 46 min and 1.2 miles later I walked up onto the shore elated that the first step had been completed.  





Stripping off my wet suit, I moved into the transition area where I put on the rest of my cycling gear – helmet, shoes, gloves and of course, the power bars and gels.  I checked the tire pressure one more time and ran to the starting line.  Jumping on my trustworthy bike which had taken the punishment of hour after hour of training, I rode off with upmost confidence that there wouldn’t be any problems. 
I rode down the hill, and not even a mile away from the start, my front tire went completely flat.  In that moment my whole world stopped - I realized that I didn’t have a spare, pump or proper tools.  My heart sank.  The only thought that I had was how this could’ve happened when I was just starting to embark on fulfilling a long time dream of mine?!  I just didn’t know what to do.  I didn’t know if I should cry or laugh at my problematic situation.  It was a moment of complete despair. 
Fortunately, the incident happened at a corner where there was a policeman and an official.  The helpful policeman agreed to call and see if the helping van was close by in order to come and help.  This      was a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation.  But … there were 56 miles of road ahead and the van could be anywhere.  I asked what time it was and found out that my swim took shorter than expected so I had about an hour to play with in order to make the time cut off.  So decisions had to be made … do I wait or do I walk to the start to see if someone could help without being disqualified in the process. 
At that moment there appeared a man who just happened to park in a lot on the other side of the street.  He asked what was wrong.  After he saw the situation he said he just happened to have an extra tube and a pump.  He went to his car and got the pump and tube.  The only thing lacking was a tool but that did not stop his determination – he used the back end of a key!  As we were in the process he mentioned that he had a bike identical to mine.  I kept thanking him and said he must be an Angel.  I asked how in the world I could ever thank him – he said there was no need to thank him just go out and have a fun race.  I said thank you one more time, put my feet into the pedals and hit the road.  What a great blessing from a faithful God – A tube from Heaven.
Completing the cycling, I moved into transition and on to the run.  During the biking and running, I continually thought about how God had provided and not only provided, but how He even provides in the small things.
The tube I received was an incredible blessing.  It reminded me that even in the small things of this world, God is faithful – This was a personal dream of mine and God was faithful in letting me complete it. 
 We are scheduled to go back to Poland on the 25th of August.  We are dreaming and are excited about what God is doing and so desire to proceed further and deeper in the Lubin Church plant.  We believe that just like the tube that God faithfully provided He will also provide the $700 per month that we are short.  Would you pray with us to this end?
                                                                    Prayer Points:
  1. Continue to pray for Andrew at his two-week handball camp back in Poland. 
  2. Pray for the finances to come in:  monthly support, Lubin church sound system project, Eager vehicle project.
  3. Good remaining 2 ½ weeks in the U.S. with family and friends and that everything will get done.
  4. Ukraine missions trip with youth from our church in Lubin and our Mother church (last two weeks in August) - safety, Spiritual fruit and wisdom for all involved.
Blessings, Paul, Carlene – Andrew, Aaron and Alaina
Mission:  SEND International * PO Box 513 * Farmington, MI * 48332 * (248) 477-4210 * Info@send.org
Home Address:  ul. Malinowa 2 * 59-300 * Lubin * Poland +(48+ 76) 844 1351*
Vonage Phone number:  574-830-1260

Monday, August 2, 2010

Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead Triathlon - A dream fullfilled :)

A long time dream of mine (Paul) was fulfilled last Saturday 31.07.2010















It took about 6 hours and 8 minutes.   I think I have some things to still work on. :)